Binary Business

Over the past couple of years you have proudly watched as your business has grown. In the beginning you were a sole practitioner braving the business world alone. Now your business consists of offices in four cities, sales people who work from the road, and several more who work from home. Saturday morning you settle into the couch with the book you have been meaning to read for months. After a few pages you are fully immersed. The stress of running the business melts away as you are consumed by the tale being unraveled. Suddenly the cellphone rings and you are snapped back to reality.

After several disappointments you finally found an IT Specialist you could trust. He answers your calls, shows up on time and best of all your computer problems are a thing of the past. You can finally relax knowing your information systems are in good hands. The months go by without incident until a timid knock on the door interrupts the your morning coffee. The first words out of your IT Specialists mouth knot your stomach. It is a conversation you have heard before, "Uh, we need to talk....". Another IT Specialist lost to promise of greener pastures in a far away city.

The sales person assured you. Your IT person swore it wouldn't be a problem. And yet, one year later your server is telling you that it is out of space. I have seen it far too many times. Rather that spend an extra couple hundred dollars when the server is purchased, the smaller hard drive is choosen. Both the sales person and your IT specialist repeat the mantra "You will never fill that hard drive!" Any time someone uses the words "never" or "always" you should immediately be suspicious, particularly when used in the context of Information Systems.

Email is convenient, fast, and ubiquitous. In most cases it is the perfect tool for writing to colleagues and associates. A couple issues remain. There is that pesky canned meat problem (SPAM) and then there is the security problem. Imagine the postman reading every bit of your mail before it gets delivered. Due to the way that email crosses the Internet, it is possible to intercept email, read it, alter it and even respond to it pretending to be recipient. This of course has significant repercussions for businesses such as law firms where confidentiality and integrity are essential.